Word
knew
US/ˈnju/
UK/njˈuː/
Definition
v. a different way to say 'known' in some local styles of speaking.
v. the past participle of 'know' in specific nonstandard dialects or colloquial registers.
Examples
“I knew the answer to the question.”
“She knew the city well because she had lived there for ten years during her childhood.”
“Although the evidence was circumstantial, the detective knew instinctively that the suspect was hiding a much larger secret than he initially admitted.”
Examples
simple
“I knew the answer to the question.”
contextual
“She knew the city well because she had lived there for ten years during her childhood.”
complex
“Although the evidence was circumstantial, the detective knew instinctively that the suspect was hiding a much larger secret than he initially admitted.”
Usage
Used in place of the standard 'known' in perfect tenses or passive constructions within specific regional dialects.
Synonyms
Collocations
Idioms
we been knew — a response to a statement or notion that is obvious or already widely known